1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video game controllers and more specifically to an integrated controller and video display device for both controlling and displaying an interactive video game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer video games are well known in the art. Such devices range from small hand held all-in-one units, to larger stand-alone units which interact with stand alone controllers and stand alone video display devices. Small hand held devices are very portable. However, the graphics and sophistication game play are substantially inferior to stand alone units due limited processing power and associated peripherals. For more sophisticated play, stand alone computer units provide tremendous processing power and work with associated peripheral devices, such as a remote controller and television display in an attempt to bring the player a more dramatic gaming experience to that of hand held devices. One such stand-alone device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,943 which is hereby incorporated by reference. These devices are widely available on the market and are well know in the art. FIGS. 8-9 depict such a conventional stand-alone computer video gaming device. A central stand-alone console contains all the essential processing components to run a computer game. A controller is connected to communicate operation control commands from a user. A separate display is connected to the gaming deice to display interactive video gaming images. As previously mentioned, this conventional arrangement is well known in the art.
With the tremendous commercial success of stand alone computer gaming systems, and entire peripheral market has emerged ranging from advanced video controllers, joysticks, steering wheel devices for racing games, multi-tap controllers, vibrating controllers, video stands, audio systems and the like. Programmable controllers are also available which allow a user to customize the operation of control buttons and to even store and retrieved such customized arrangements. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,100 which provides an LCDP display interface to facilitate programming the controller and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The display device 18 of the ""100 device is limited to an alphanumeric display in response to manual manipulation of program keys.
Stand alone computer gaming devices all require the use of a display device such as a television as shown in FIGS. 8-9. These devices are specifically suited for home use and do not lend them selves to portable use or in a manner which is intimate to the user. Hand held gaming systems incorporate an all-in-one processor, display and controller into a single to facilitate portability and intimate interaction with the game. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,830 and is incorporated herein by reference. However, as previously mentioned such systems do not provide the sophistication level of game play or graphics that stand alone systems can provide. Heretofore, the prior art has failed to integrate a display device into a controller for interaction with stand-alone computer game device.
The present invention is directed to a computer game controller with integrated video display device. The controller has a video device mounted or otherwise integrated into a hand held controller. A communication cable connects the controller with a stand-alone computer game device. The cable establishes a communication link to facilitate the transmission of both command signals and audio/video signals between the controller and computer device. The integrated controller and video display device of the present invention provides two-way interaction with the stand-alone computer device within a single accessory device. The integrated controller and video display device may also incorporate a speaker or headphone jack to deliver audio stimulation.